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What documents does a minor need to travel?

Check all the requirements you need to meet when travelling with children and infants, considering their age and destination

All passengers aged 14 or over should travel with a national identification card or passport.

Children under 14 do not have to have one but travelling with one will mean their identity does not have to be proven in a different fashion.

Minors travelling with their parents

Domestic Flights

If you are travelling with your children who are under 14 without a national identification card, you may be asked to show your family record book.

International flights (European and third countries)

All minors should present their own national identification card or passport and also meet the requirements of the destination country.

If the person who accompanies the minor is not one of his/her parents or if the minor is travelling alone

Domestic Flights

Children under 14 without a national identification card or passport may be asked to show one of these documents:

Accreditation from a notary public with the personal details of the minor and a photograph, and which includes the father, mother or guardian's travel authorisation.

Authorisation formalised in a Police Office: Via the personal appearance of the father, mother or guardian, on behalf of the person who has custody of the minor during the trip, and which shall be compared at all times with that person’s national identification card or passport.

If you have booked our special unaccompanied minor service you will need to fill in the Mandatory Release of Liability Form and hand it in at the airport for checking against your other documentation.
For domestic flights, minors under the age 14 do not need to present an ID card or passport. (See the exceptional circumstances for the Air Shuttle under "Special cases")

International flights (European and third countries)

All minors should present their own national identification card or passport and also meet the requirements of the destination country.
When they travel alone and do not have a Passport, the DNI must be accompanied by a Parent or Guardian Authorisation formalised in a Police Department.
If you have booked our special unaccompanied minor service you will also need to fill in the Mandatory Release of Liability Form and hand it in at the airport for checking against your other documentation.

Special cases

Shuttle Service

To buy tickets for the shuttle, an ID card or passport must be presented as a means of identification.
If the minor is accompanied by their parents, the parents' ID will be sufficient to link them to the child's ticket.

Departures from Spanish airports

Entry through to the boarding area is permitted to guardians or family members of minors under 14 who are travelling alone for departures from airports in Spain. Once you have requested our Minor Companion Service, you can ask for a Companions’ Card at the Iberia check-in desk.
They will only be allowed access to accompany the minor to the boarding gate on the day and time of the flight. The adult companion should carry his/her valid passport or national identification card to pass through border control with the minor.

Identification on international flights

On international flights (European and other countries), as there is no standardised regulation, all minors (travelling accompanied or unaccompanied, regardless of their age) must present their own document, national identification card or passport, in addition to complying with the requirements of the destination country.
If they travel alone and do not have a Passport, the DNI must be accompanied by a Parent or Guardian Authorisation formalised in a Police Department.

Flights to Mexico

All minors who travel to/from Mexico alone or accompanied by a third person who is not either their parents or their legal guardian should present a document signed by both parents or the parent who has custody or the person who has guardianship before a notary public or pertinent authority where it states that the child is allowed to leave the national territory. When it is a document granted abroad, it should be authorised or apostilled, depending on the case, with a translation (if in a language other than Spanish). In the specific case of Spain, the Police have an authorisation document for these cases.

Children travelling to/ from or transitting South Africa

For travel to and from South Africa, all children need to bring various documents, regardless if they travel with both parents, with one parent, with an accompanying adult or alone.
Please ensure you check with your local South African Embassy to ensure you have the correct paperwork for when your child is due to travel. Read more about the new rules for travel to/from South Africa.

Can one adult travel with two infants?

Aircraft safety regulations require that if an adult passenger wants to travel with two infants (children under 2 years), they will have to bring along a standard child car seat for one of the infants to travel in. The car seat will be fitted to the seat next to the adult passenger's seat.

The other baby will travel on the adult passenger's lap with the additional seatbelt which will be provided by the crew as has been normal practice until now.

The fare applicable to the infant in the car seat will be the same as that of a child between the ages of 2 and 11 years of age.

Who is considered a minor?

We consider a person to be a minor if he or she has not yet turned eighteen years of age on the flight date.

Fares are applied depending on the passenger's age group:

For infants under 2 years old(INF) : You pay 10% of the fare and the child does not occupy a seat. The child has the same baggage allowance as an adult and you can also bring a baby chair/collapsible stroller or a car seat. From 2 until 11 years old (CHD) : You pay 50% of the fare on domestic flights with full fare (that is, without restrictions). A percentage is applied to reduced fares depending on what fare was chosen.
On international flights this percentage varies depending on the destination and the fare. This discount will not be applied to certain special offers. The minors occupy a seat on the flight and are given the same baggage allowance as the adult passenger accompanying them.
In order for them to travel alone, you must always hire our Companion Service.

12 years of age(ADT) and up: An adult fare is applied and although they can fly alone with us, you can also hire our Companion Service.

What are the requirements for a child travelling alone?

Due to the special characteristics of these passengers, and for safety reasons, they may travel unaccompanied as long as they meet the following requirements:

Aged between 5 and 11. This service is mandatory for children in this age group who are travelling alone.

Starting from 12 years old, the child is considered an adult for us and can travel alone (on other companies these requirements may vary). Therefore, Iberia has an assistance and companion service for minors aged between 12 and 17, which has to be requested beforehand.

Name of guardian responsible for the child at the departure point, address and contact phone number. The telephone number that you provide us in this section must be from a mobile phone if you wish to receive our text messages (SMS).

Name of the person responsible for the child at the arrival point, address and contact phone number.

Passport or visa, if required at the destination

As well as allowing us to determine the identity of the person responsible for meeting the child, this also allows us to contact this person if necessary.
Children are taken care of from their arrival at the check-in to handover of the child at the destination airport, and are also accompanied in transit if they have to change flights.

Save time by printing the form for our accompaniment services and you will be able to provide us with the copy already completed at the airport: Liability Waiver Form.

Cost of the service per journey

Cost of the service per journey

Domestic flights (except Canary Islands)

Europe*, the Canary Islands, the Middle East and Africa

America and Asia

40€

65€

100€/115USD

* Except London(Heathrow) -Madrid where the cost will be: 125USD

Cost of the service for flights with transfers (through Madrid)

Cost of the service for flights with transfers

With Domestic Connection (except Canary Islands)

With Domestic/Canary Islands/European Connection

With Domestic/International connection

65€

90€

125€/140USD

The service may be requested when making the booking and will be charged when the ticket is issued except when requested afterward as an additional service. In this last case, the ticket will be re-issued to adjust the rate to the service requested.
Take into account fluctuations in the currency exchange rate when purchasing the service.
Different charges, fees or taxes may apply in accordance with the law in each country.

In addition, the following recommendations should be taken into account:

Make bookings more than 24 hours before the start of a journey.

Arrive at the airport in plenty of time, in order to complete the documentation required.

Provide the minor with an extra copy of the relevant contact numbers at the origin and destination alike.

Do not leave the departure airport facilities until it has been confirmed that the flight has taken off.

Finally, please remember that, for the purposes of air transport, only passengers over 16 years of age will be considered as adults for the purposes of accompanying a child.

Iberia will not accept bookings or tickets for unaccompanied minors (UM's) when other companies, including code-share flights (IB4XXX and IB7XXX), are involved in the transport.

How can I transport my baby?

When you travel with your baby and you take the pram with you, you have the option of keeping the pram with you until you board the aircraft or checking it in with the rest of your luggage. If you do take it to the aircraft entrance, it may be transported in the cabin when cabin space allows. Otherwise, it will taken by the flight attendants, placed in the hold and handed over at the aircraft door on arrival (where feasible).

If you check it in as hold baggage, it will be collected with the rest of your baggage from the carousels in the arrivals hall.

To make your baby's trip safer, on intercontinental flights and for babies up to 8 months and 11 kg. maximum weight., Iberia has available a certain number of sky-cots.

These skycots, along with the seats for the adult passengers who accompany the infant, cannot be booked online.

To book a skycot please contact the Iberia office in your country, who will inform you if you will be able to book a seat for yourself in the area asigned to skycots.

Iberia, conscious of what travelling with an infant involved, provided the same baggage allowance as for the accompanying adult, as well as a pushchair/foldable buggy or a car seat.

Family Pass: Service for traveling with children in Madrid Airport

This is a pay-to-use service designed to help families enjoy a problem-free start to their trip at the airport. After welcoming you at Barajas Airport Terminal 4, our staff will help you with the steps to take through to reaching your flight's boarding gate.
To that end you may check in at the Business terminals and pass through the VIP Access security control (avoiding queues and waits). If your flight leaves from T4S (satellite building) you will also be accompanied during the train journey.

Is it possible to travel with a minor in different cabins (business/tourist)?

Yes you can, but there are other considerations to take into account:

The minor must be 5 years of age or more.

In the security area, a child will be considered an “unaccompanied minor, UM (from 5 to 12 years old)” which means that you must request the minor companion service. We remind you that there are a limited number of seats for UM's on board, and it may be the case that on the day of the flight there are no free seats left on the plane and specifically, in the cabin desired.
We therefore recommend booking well in advance. More information

As a special case, even though for Iberia the child will be an UM passenger on board and we are responsible for transport, the child's health, welfare and behaviour at all times will be your responsibility.

Even if they travel in the tourist cabin, they can access the VIP lounge as companion, if you are an Iberia Plus Gold or Platinum Client.

If the child is 12 or older, the minor does not need any special procedure. You can make the reservation in an individual way selecting the desired cabin.